Just because you were convicted of a crime doesn’t mean that your conviction must forever haunt employment background checks, stop you from becoming a U.S. citizen or remain a deportation threat.
There is no reason to let a youthful mistake, misunderstanding, past criminal record—or especially a criminal identity theft—be a barrier to future opportunities. Many options of post-conviction relief are available to help you, even after you have served time, finished probation, or paid your fines. Relief is critical for clearing the records of victims of criminal identity theft.
Through post-conviction proceedings, the Law Offices of Jonathan Minkus can attempt to lessen the negative consequences of having been convicted of a crime. Your background may be used against you in rental matters, employment and education opportunities, by Immigration and Naturalization—and even socially.
If you have been charged with a criminal offense or convicted of a crime in Chicago, that criminal record can follow you from job applications to applications for rental apartments or credit. Indeed, criminal offenses ranging from minor misdemeanor drug possession convictions to felony offenses will remain on your criminal record and can have long-term consequences even years after you paid your fine or served a jail term. Whether you ultimately beat the charges you were facing or you served out the terms of your sentence following a conviction, you might be wondering about your options for hiding or removing information about the crime from your record. Generally speaking, Illinois law has two possible ways to get rid of information on a criminal record — through record sealing or expungement.
While record sealing can be beneficial for preventing public access to your criminal record, expungement is a process that can remove criminal charges and convictions from your record entirely. An experienced Chicago expungement lawyer can provide you with additional information.
Information on your criminal record can be accessed by potential employers, creditors, and other parties without too much difficulty. As a result, a criminal record can continue affecting a person’s life long after the act and even after that person has served out the terms of a sentence. Record sealing and expungement are two ways that you can prevent public access to your criminal record.
Many misdemeanor and felony offenses can qualify for record sealing in Illinois (including convictions), which is a way of hiding the information on your criminal record. Aside from sex offenses, DUIs, and domestic violence charges, most offenses are eligible for record sealing once a waiting period (typically of two or three years) has passed. Expungement is better than record sealing if you are eligible for expungement. Unlike sealing, expungement in Illinois (20 ILCS 2630/5.2) means that your criminal record will be destroyed—as if it never existed in the first place. In general, expungement is only an option to erase an arrest or charge—not a conviction. However, there are some exceptions.
You can move forward with an expungement application if your criminal record is eligible for expungement. Only certain types of criminal records are eligible for expungement, and the list of eligible offenses is much smaller than the list of offenses that are eligible for record sealing. Under Illinois law, the following kinds of information on criminal records cannot be expunged:
If you are not eligible for expungement, you could still be eligible to have your record sealed. As we noted above, many criminal convictions are eligible for record sealing.
If you have questions about expungement or record sealing, you should seek advice from a Chicago expungement attorney as soon as you can. Contact the Law Offices of Jonathan Minkus for more information.
I am forever grateful for Jonathan Minkus and his assistance with my clemency petition. I found myself in an exceptionally troubling situation in which my legal status in the US was in jeopardy due to my criminal record. Per the advice of my immigration attorney, I engaged Mr. Minkus’s services in the hopes that he might be able to assist with a clemency petition. Mr....
My wife and I have tried 3 times for her green card and was rejected three times because of some trouble she was accused of before she spoke English. I asked another Lawyer is there anything we can do and she referred us to Jonathan Minkus. We meet with Jonathan and said he might be able to help us but it would be difficult. Jonathan...
Jonathan helped me to vacate two of charges against me, and both of them are successfully vacated. I had a very good experience working with Jonathan and he is a very kind person and very considerate. I would like to highly recommend someone that has same situation as me to go get help form Jonathan.
For 6 years my wife and I tried to receive our Green Card. After being declined 3 times, I asked our immigration lawyer is there anyway to correct some legal issues my wife fell into before she learned to speak English. We were referred to Jonathan and he has done miracles in clearing her name so we finally have a chance at receiving our Green...
Jonathan is not only a brilliant attorney but he is a genuinely good human being. A petty misdemeanor mistake was holding back our immigration process. We came to him seeking options and hope. Upon meeting Jonathan during our initial consultation, his overwhelming knowledge, positivity and kindness were on full display and we immediately felt hope again. I know in my heart Jonathan deeply cares for...
I highly recommend his services.
Jonathan was the only one willing to help my husband and me during a tough time. My husband was facing deportation and had no chance to beat his case unless Jonathan was able to vacate a previous conviction. Jonathan was persistent and genuinely advocated for my husband and family. Jonathan was able to vacate the 12-year-old conviction with DuPage County, giving us a fighting chance...
I hired Mr. Jonathan Minkus for a criminal drug conviction which I needed removed off of my record that I had pled guilty to over 7 years ago. Without going into too much detail about the difficulty of my case, I would just like to emphasize how difficult it is to convince a Judge 7 years after pleading guilty to drop a charge. Well, Jonathan...
Mr. Minkus did extremely good work on my difficult criminal case for Resisting Arrest . Also he help me save my Commercial Driver License for Agrivated speeding. That means he save my job and my income. This is High Class Lawyer and I would recommended This Lawyer to anyone with deep trouble . Thank You again mr Minkus.
I was wrongfully advised by an immigration lawyer to expunge my criminal record that consisted of a drug related charge in order to apply for residency. My wife and I quickly found out this was not true and were referred by two different lawyers (who did not know one another) to contact Mr. Minkus. We were without hope and filled with stress.
I almost never write reviews and when Mr. Minkus just finished representing my brother and I looked for him online I felt like I had to write this. Yes, he is not the cheapest lawyer around but he did exactly what he said he would do. My brother was being deported and we were sent to Mr. Minkus to try and fix his criminal record.
I hired Mr. Minkus a month ago after a convoluted incident that left me with criminal trespass and criminal damage to property, possibly pending a burglary charge. The confessions I had written and the police notes that were taken while I was in custody painted a very bad portrait of me and the system likely would have given me a severe sentence if not for
My experience with mr. Minkus was outstanding. Mr.Minkus really help me with difficult criminal case for Resisting Arrest and extremely bad traffic ticket for agrivated speeding . I would recommend this lawyer to anyone who are in deep trouble. I would love to say again THANK YOU mr Minkus for Excellent work on my case.
I had a conviction in my record that affect my ability to get my citizenship. Mr Johnatan came highly recommend from my immigration attorney and he was right. Mr Minkus went out of his way to get my conviction changed to the level that won't affect me anymore. I highly recommend his services.
Senior Partner Jonathan Minkus has successfully defended individuals charged with every conceivable criminal offense, from traffic misdemeanors to death-penalty eligible homicides.
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